March 2012
110 posts
“If you don’t live for something, you’ll die for nothing. If you don’t stand for...”
– Anonymous (submitted by intelligenceisimportant)
“But someday you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again.”
– C.S. Lewis, The World’s Last Night: And Other Essays (via minuteandfaraway)
3 tags
“I don’t think that there are any limits to how excellent we could make life...”
– Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated)
5 tags
On Writing Symbolism into Your Work →
While not an absolutely necessary element, writing symbolism into your story is a fantastic way to deepen the meaning of your novel and tie everything together. Not all of your readers will pick up on every element of symbolism that you write into your novel, but those who do will appreciate the nuances in your work.
Do you write symbolism into your story? What examples can you think of from a...
“The only people who see the whole picture,” he murmured, “are the ones who step...”
– Salman Rushdie (via amandaonwriting)
3 tags
“[Me?] I’m a writer now.”
– Stephen King, from The Body (thanks, blueberryrox)
4 tags
Is Your Idea Novel-Worthy? →
Many writers will eventually find that they have more ideas than they know what to do with. Their idea box is overflowing with scraps of paper begging to be remembered or their brains are bursting at the seams with stories that could be interesting to pursue.
But how do you know if any of those ideas are novel-worthy? (read more)
Hunger Games Movie Is “An Absolute Inspiration”... →
taherehmafi:
MTV/VH1 asked me to review The Hunger Games movie! spoiler alert: i loved it.
“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is...”
– Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan (via girlwithoutwings)
“Fiction is very, very important,” he said, his voice is rising. “Storytelling is...”
– Kristine Grayson, Wickedly Charming (via prettybooks)
“Generally, there seems to exist significant pressure for writers to create...”
– Celebrating the Complicated Girl, by author Phoebe North (via yahighway)
3 tags
How (Not) to Be a Successful Blogger →
Ten golden rules that will definitely (not) guarantee blogging success.
“I go to bed early and rise late and feel as if I have hardly slept, probably...”
– Lemony Snicket, The Beatrice Letters (via basterrda)
1 tag
“Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an...”
– Walter Cronkite (via bookstorecouture)
3 tags
“The business of the novelist is not to relate great events, but to make small...”
– Arthur Schopenhauer (via amandaonwriting)
“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the...”
– Lucius Annaeus Seneca (via sunrec)
“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will...”
– Henry James (via inspirinquotes)
3 tags
On Writing and Waiting →
It goes without saying that when it comes to things of the writerly nature, answers will vary depending on the writer/ manuscript/ season/ day of the week/ what you ate for breakfast/ how many ferrets you have (ok, maybe not those last few). But delayed gratification is interesting because, for writers at least, it’s mostly inevitable. (read more)
“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the...”
– Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams (via creatingaquietmind)
“Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have...”
– ~Eleanor Roosevelt
(via thesearepeopleyouknow)
“Not knowing isn’t the hook. First you need to get the reader to want to know....”
– mooderino (via jkendrickallen)
3 tags
Should Writers Delay Their Gratification? →
What do you think? Should writers choose to delay the gratification of publishing? What are the benefits? The consequences?
“Writing is a consequence of having been ‘haunted’ by material. Why this is, no...”
– Joyce Carol Oates (via libraryland)
“You are most powerful when you are most silent. People never expect silence....”
– All Rivers Flow to the Sea, Alison McGhee (via creatingaquietmind)
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
– Jack London (via jkendrickallen)
“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid,...”
– Stephen King (via ameliaaaaaah)
“Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Do not be afraid.”
– Frederick Buechner (via calloway)
“Every character should want something–even if it is only a glass of water.”
– Kurt Vonnegut (via jkendrickallen)
2 tags
“It is impossible to discourage the real writers—they don’t give a damn what you...”
– Sinclair Lewis (b. 1885)
“Don’t quit. It’s very easy to quit during the first 10 years. Nobody cares...”
– Andre Dubus (via jkendrickallen)
3 tags
How to Plot Without Plotting →
Or how to use the one-sentence pitch as a plotting tool.
“Knowing how to read and not reading books is like owning skiis and not skiing,...”
– (via amphigorical)
mycroftspolishedshoes:
It’s every writer’s dream to make a reader throw their books in frustration, rage, and other such feels.
“You simply keep putting down one damn word after the other, as they come to you....”
– Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird. (via paperbackgirl)
Word Painting: A Question Asked of Neil Gaiman. I... →
wordpainting:
How do I know if I’m writing too slow? Should I trudge on when the words are molasses, or do I take a break? How many words per day are acceptable, or is there no minimum? Or, even, what do you do when writing is hard?
_______________________
You keep writing.
I don’t know anything…
“The first sentence cannot be written until the last sentence has.”
– Joyce Carol Oates (via amandaonwriting)
for the heart, mind, and soul: Ten Reasons To... →
inspirinquotes:
1. Smiling Makes Us Attractive
We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away — but a smile draws them in.
2. Smiling Changes Our Mood
Next time you are…
“You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas...”
– Neil Gaiman (via 93sign)
Reading For The Rushed →
every-page:
Some good tips on how to read more. I like the suggestion of being able to put a bad book down, I’m definitely learning to do that more often!
